Saracens coach Laura Eddie admitted she had to pinch herself in amazement after walking away with a top prize at the inaugural National Rugby Awards at Twickenham.

England are hosting Fiji at Rugby HQ on Friday September 18, but Eddie got a sneak peak at the famous venue on Wednesday night at the first ever Lawson Keys National Rugby Awards.

With the support of England captain Chris Robshaw, the awards celebrate the great and the good of the sport’s grassroots heroes, acknowledging the dedication and commitment to rugby by thousands of clubs and individuals across the country.

Eddie was there due to Saracens’ nomination for the England Rugby Women’s Team of the Year award after landing a league and cup double last season.

And after beating five other clubs to the prize the coach could hardly believe her luck.

“It’s fantastic to win this award and we have worked really hard all season and this is just the icing on the cake really,” Eddie said.

“We were very fortunate enough to win the double, Premiership and National Cup, so following on the success of the national Women’s World Cup which happened last summer we are fortunate enough to have players who have come from the World Cup into our squad and then they have carried on them performances throughout with the rest of the team.

“The opportunity to play at Allianz Park is amazing for us. It’s our home for training, it’s our home for matches and we are really trying hard to build those links with the professional men’s side.

“And all those little things really make a difference, the girls feel like they are professionals , they feel special every time they turn up to training as they walk out on that pitch knowing the men are doing exactly the same thing.

“So in terms of the team’s ethos and morale it’s all about professionalism. We might not be being paid like the men are but everything about our approach is totally professional and we know what we want to get at the end of the season.”

But after such a successful season, Eddie isn’t about to let her players take their foot off the gas this term.

“We are looking to build on the success of the last season, and we have lots of fresh new faces and are really excited to see what the younger players can do to push those more experienced heads, and hopefully more silverware at the end of the season,” she added.

Lawson Keys sponsor the 2015 National Rugby Awards. Follow the Awards in The Rugby Paper www.therugbypaper.co.uk